Search form

Second Varsity Eight Finishes Second At Crew Classic

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - - Washington State's women's second varsity crew highlighted the final day of the Crew Classic with a second place finish in the Jackie Ann Stitt Memorial Trophy Grand Final race Sunday at Mission Bay. The varsity eight crew finished fifth and the novice eight squad finished sixth in their respective finals.

'Our second varsity eight crew a fantastic race,' WSU Head Coach Jane LaRiviere said. 'Despite our difficulties at the start of the race, we had an epic 1000 meters and great boat speed.'

After falling into sixth place following the first 500 meters of the Jackie Ann Stitt Memorial Trophy Grand Final, the Cougars surged back to edge out Stanford for second place. WSU clocked the fastest splits for the half way and 1500 meter marks of the race with spilt times of 1:40.84 and 1:44.85. The Cougar crew finished the 2000 meter course with a mark of 6:56.05, barely bettering Stanford's time of 6:56.72. California won the championship race rowing to a 6:51.30 finish. Texas finished the race in fourth, 6:57.67, USC placed fifth, 6:58.93 and UCLA finished sixth with a time of 7:01.64.

The Cougar varsity eight squad, which is ranked 16th in the US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Association NCAA Division I Poll, also hit the water Sunday afternoon, competing in the Jessop-Whittier Cup Grand Final race. The WSU crew finished the race in fifth place, rowing to a time of 6:40.95. Eight-ranked California, 6:26.43, captured the cup with a seven second victory over second place, No. 13 Stanford, 6:33.76. Placing third was No. 14 USC, 6:37.42, out rowing No. 19 UCLA, 6:38.87, by only a second. Finishing sixth in the race was No. 10 Tennessee with a time of 6:42.92.

'I am super proud of the varsity eight crew,' added LaRiviere. 'It was a tough battle, with not that much of a time difference. We had a great race and that really excites me for the rest of the season ahead of us especially for the Pacific-10 Conference Championships.'

Also racing Sunday was the Cougar novice eight crew. The novice squad placed sixth in the San Diego Sea World Grand Final race, rowing to a time of 7:27.33. Earning a first place finish in the race, with a mark of 7:06.50, was the novice crew from California.

'Overall I'm really proud of everyone,' LaRiviere said. 'We came out and had a strong showing.'

For complete results and times from the 2005 Crew Classic, visit the event's website at www.crewclassic.org.

WSU will return to competition Saturday April 9 at the Husky Invitational on the Montlake Cut in Seattle. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m.